The willing deserve a vote, respect

The late Dana Putnam offered a lot of advice to me, but 20 or so years later one suggestion in particular has stuck with me.

Dana, a former town clerk, town moderator and longtime selectman, told me that he tried to vote in every election, and in every election he would support someone for every office listed on the ballot if a candidate was listed for that office.

He didnít guarantee he would write in someoneís name if no one was running for a post, but even if someone was running unopposed, he would check off their names.

ďIf they are willing to be on the ballot, they deserve my vote,Ē he said.

Dana didnít always like the people running uncontested, but he voted for them anyway out of respect for their willingness to serve. He has been gone almost seven years, but I try to follow his example in every election.

My town, Templeton, voted Monday. There are a bunch more towns holding elections over the next couple of months. I hope all the candidates in those towns get the respect they deserve.

Templeton has a reputation of late as the most dysfunctional town in northern Central Massachusetts. Those who deny that view probably havenít been paying attention. It is not dysfunctional because of the average person living here. It is a reasonably pretty town with a nice Common. It doesnít have too many feral cats running around, crime is low and the children are all above average. It just has really contentious politics.

I only mention this because all the infighting aside, I admire the fact that people in town seem to care about their government. Sometimes I donít agree with them, but I respect their willingness to speak their minds, attend meetings and especially run for office.

On Mondayís ballot were four people seeking two positions on the Board of Selectmen. One of the candidates was Paulie Cosentino, a businessman, political blogger and someone not afraid to speak his mind. He is controversial, but he deserves our respect. Even though he is battling health problems, Paulie ran for office because he believed he could make the town better. He did not get elected, but not for lack of trying.

Also on the ballot was Gerry Skelton. He and Paulie donít get along politically, but like Paulie, he deserves our respect. Gerry is a former selectman and former longtime manager of the townís light and water company. He knew going into the election he would face a lot of flak from his opponents. He still chose to run for office. He did not win, either, but ran a good campaign.

Doug Morrison did win. He knows what he will face as selectman. He served on the Advisory Board and has been working to get a new senior center built in town for many years. He knows the challenges, but ran anyway.

The fourth candidate was Kenn Robinson. Kenn is a new guy in town, but unlike most new residents, he did not sit on the sidelines. He stepped right into the fray. He was the highest vote getter and elected selectman.

Of the thousands of people in Templeton, only four ran for the Board of Selectmen. I didnít run. Most of my friends and neighbors didnít run. A majority of the town did not even bother to vote. Those four deserve our respect, as do Elizabeth Crocker who won a seat on the Board of Health and her opponent, Randy Lawrence; Greg Edwards, who won re-election to the Templeton Light and Water Commission and his opponents, Frank Moschetti and Dave Smart.

There is a well-worn saying that the world is run by those who show up. If someone runs for office, they deserve our respect. If you donít like what they do in office, run against them, but respect their willingness to stand up and be counted.

Contact George Barnes at gbarnes@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgebarnesTG